Some of my fondest memories of my adult life are days spent with my cousin, an avid bargain shopper, scouring outlets and discount stores in the Big Apple and in Historic Hudson. I will always remember fondly the long hours in Filenes as my daughter explored the new world of clothes as a preteen. I will always treasure a shopping trip toRhiebeck with my husband on "Small Business Saturday" - what a bookstore we found - and he did not rush me because they had snacks!
I must admit I really do enjoy a good shopping trip - the kind where you come home with a few bulging bags and the grin that indicates you secured at least one fabulous bargain. There is a thrill in that hunt and the victory that I suspect mirrors the enjoyment hunters and fishermen seek as they wait for their prey and then rejoice in their catch. Perhaps that part goes all the way back to our early roots as hunters and gatherers!
Yet, I need very little in the line of the "stuff" that fills the carts of shoppers everywhere this time of year. Yet, this is a world that makes us year of "things" to give and to get.....things that will make us happy or make our lives more complete. What I would like more that anything else is the gift of time - to spend time with my now adult children and the loves of their lives. I would like to take my mother to a get-dressed-up magical lunch. I would like to take someone special to an all expense paid shopping trip...no questions asked....I would like to see the Nutcracker through the eyes of a child....I woudl like to make tons of my best and only cookie...the gingerbread man...and share them with eveyone before Christmas....
So I guess that is my list.....I need little....in the line of gifts per se.....It's my life, my family, my friends that really and truly matter. I just hope I can remember this when I am in line at some point this month...even if it is for more molasses.....
I must admit I really do enjoy a good shopping trip - the kind where you come home with a few bulging bags and the grin that indicates you secured at least one fabulous bargain. There is a thrill in that hunt and the victory that I suspect mirrors the enjoyment hunters and fishermen seek as they wait for their prey and then rejoice in their catch. Perhaps that part goes all the way back to our early roots as hunters and gatherers!
Yet, I need very little in the line of the "stuff" that fills the carts of shoppers everywhere this time of year. Yet, this is a world that makes us year of "things" to give and to get.....things that will make us happy or make our lives more complete. What I would like more that anything else is the gift of time - to spend time with my now adult children and the loves of their lives. I would like to take my mother to a get-dressed-up magical lunch. I would like to take someone special to an all expense paid shopping trip...no questions asked....I would like to see the Nutcracker through the eyes of a child....I woudl like to make tons of my best and only cookie...the gingerbread man...and share them with eveyone before Christmas....
So I guess that is my list.....I need little....in the line of gifts per se.....It's my life, my family, my friends that really and truly matter. I just hope I can remember this when I am in line at some point this month...even if it is for more molasses.....
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